Tubes in Ears - Columbia, MS

One of my twins had to have tubes in her ears when she was 9 mo old. Honestly, I was scared to death because that's my baby and they were putting her to sleep.

However, by the time I had been able to sit for 5 minutes and start on a magazine, they came and told me she was done and we could see her in a few minutes. She recovered quickly and was playing as usual the next day.

I don't have experience with the adenoids. I hope for you that the recovery won't be much different.

Good luck!

My daughter had both done (not at the same time) this is a pretty quick operation. The only problem we had was after the adnoids she was pretty sick - pretty much from all the drainage and a little reaction to the anesthesia other than that she was fine.

My son had a hard time with ear infection. Me and the ENT decided he needed tubes. But he still continued to have infection. We tried numerous antibiotics and other home remedies and nothing ever worked. He suffered from this for over a year. Finally we decided to get his tonsils and adnoids removed about 7 months ago and we have not had a problem yet!!!! Sometimes if the tonsils or adnoids get infected it causes ear infections as well. It is more scary for you than it will be for them!! They will be put to sleep and given pain medicine before and after the surgery. IF you have a good ENT they will make sure your child is as comfortable as possible after the surgery. I used Dr. McGuirt in Winston-Salem at PENTA. He was GREAT!!!!! The procedure will last about 15-20 minutes. My son was really grouchy right after while he was in the recovery room. But once we got home he was fine!!!! It took him a couple days to want to eat (but he had tonsils removed too) as far as the tubes just make sure you put the drops in your childs ears for the days after and everything should be fine!! Like i said before it is scarier for you than it is them!!!! GOOD LUCK!! I hope everything goes well and your lil one gets better.

My son had tubes put in his ears around the same time. It took literally like 10 minutes. When he woke up he was crying and could not be consoled b/c of the gas that they used. I had to get him to drink a full cup of juice before I could take him home. Once I got him home I finally got him calmed down and he slept for several hours and when he woke up he was happy and hungry. I fed him lunch and he ran around and played the rest of the day like everything was fine. I wish I would have given in sooner to my doctor and had the tubes put in when his ear problems started b/c he was like a whole new child after his tubes. Good Luck!!! Don't worry it's no big deal.

My daughter had the same thing done when she was 5. The surgery went well. After we got home, we had to give her pain medicine b/c she was in alot of pain. We just kept giving her the medicine for a few days and she healed up fine. I have to say though, the tubes did not help her at all. She still continued to get ear infections. It has helped some people but the tubes just did not help my daughter.

When my oldest little boy was 15 months old he had tubes put in his ears also. The procedure only took like 5 min. The next day after his surgery, I gave birth to our youngest son. Besides being a little grogy for the day after his tubes were put in, he was fine. In fact, I think he went back to daycare like 2 days later! I don't have any expierience with the adenoids though. I am sure it will take a little longer to recover from that. Good Luck!

my son had tubes in his ears and so ahve all my nieces and nephews in NY. It is a common procedure and you only have to keep water out of their ears. The adenoids will help them breath so much better, Just wait and see

My daughter got tubes last August, when she was only 9 months old. I was very nervous, particularly with her being so young. It turned out I was nervous for no reason. They took her back and she was back in my arms in 15 minutes tops. She was a little groggy, but otherwise fine. She drank some juice and after about 10 minutes they let us go home, and she was up walking around and playing. To put it in perspective the surgery was scheduled at 6:00 and we were back home by 8:00 (this includes 20 minute drive time).
I'm sure she will be fine and the best part, NO MORE EAR INFECTIONS!
Good Luck!

Hi K.~ I have friends that have had tubes put in thier kids ears, and they said that it was so worth it, not to have to suffer through there kids ear infections. My sisters little girl had her adnoids taken out and she was up running around later that day. The recovery was super short. It might be scary when she comes out of anesthesha(sp?) Because they are out of it and cry alot, but after that she will be fine. Good luck!!!~C.

My daughter had tubes twice the year she was four. As long as they were in and not clogged they were a good thing. the ear infections almost completly stopped where as before she had one constantly. She had he adnoids out the second time, but I haven't seen the benefits there. the surgury was fairly easy. And she was up and moving around that afternoon. She cried when she came out, but that is because they didn't give her her blanket like I asked them too, once i got back there and gave it to her she calmed down. The second time we had a little trouble before hand because she wanted to get up and walk around after they gave her the "I don't Care medicine" And then they took so long to take her back that it wore off before they took her and she became rather upset and I had to force her to stay in bed, but I saw other kids there for the same thing that were taken bake faster and had no problems. They always take the youngest back first.
My Daughter just got her tubes removed on Monday. they were still in her ears, but not in her ear drums. They had stopped working about 8 months ago, but we didn't want to do surgery to have them removed. she did well having them out in the ENT office, she was so brave even when he had a hard time getting one out because of all the ear wax. My only problem really was that they didn't work as long as I thought they should and even now she still has fluid behind her eardrums so she has to take nasaqort to dry it up. Most kids have outgrown them by now,but she hasn't.
Overall, I will say it was a good thing, but unless she just has non-stop ear infections again we aren't going through it again.

My son had his done 2 weeks after his first birthday. I was anxious about it too. But, it's really not too bad. We went in to the children's hospital and after checking in, we got settled in the pre-op area. They gave him this lil' syringe of "kool-aid" medicine which makes him sleepy. Within a few minutes he was so silly. Then they took him back for surgery. His surgery was only about an hour, if I remember correctly. Then we had to wait in recovery til he woke completely up and drank and kept down some juice. They said soft foods/liquids for the rest of the day, but my son would have NONE of that. He was HUNGRY and let me know it! So, it's all up to what your child can handle afterwards. Mostly he wanted to cuddle, but he was back to his old self pretty quickly.

I am a local pediatrician and have had many of my little patients need tubes and have seen the surgery myself many times. Getting tubes only takes a few minutes and I think you will find your child will be much happier afterwards. I'm sure you have struggled through numerous ear infections and sleepless nights secondary to painful ears. Just think now her ears will have a way to drain and it will also improve her hearing which will help her speech development as well.
The adenoids take a little bit longer to do and she will likely be a little sore for a few days following this. Stock up on popsicles and our goodies your child likes as these will be soothing to her sore throat, adenoids are easier to recover from than tonsils though so she should be back to herself in no time.
Good Luck!

My little girl had the same procedure at 21 months of age. She did great. She was back to herself after 2 days. She whined and cried alot the first day but after that she was fine.

Hi K.,
My son has his tonsils and adenoids out at 14 months old. (No tubes though but I hear that's a relatively simple procedure.) I think having the tonsils out is a little more painful than the adenoids but I wouldn't be surprised if they keep her overnight. They worry about dehydration because if their throat hurts, they refuse to drink and there's no arguing with a young child who doesn't understand. Again, this may all be more of an issue with the tonsils rather than the adenoids, but she'll be fine and you'll probably see a huge difference in her health afterwards. Take care.

My 21/2 year old son had tubes placed in his ears and his adnoids out in October of this year. I too was anxious but everything went wonderfully. His surgery was scheduled for 7:30 in the morning and we were home by 10:30. I will tell you that my son was really hoarse when I first saw him from the tube they placed in him. The nurses at the Children's Hospital Surgery Center on Westland Drive were awesome. They really made me feel comfortable and relaxed and came to get me the second my son started to wake up from anesthia. Don't be alarmed because your daughter will be really groggy from the medication but once it wears off she will be herself again. My son was up and playing later that day but didn't return to full activity until the following day. The best advice I can give you is as soon as the nurses come and get you to come back and see her is to hold her and talk to her. Let her know that mommy is there and everything will be okay. I will pray for you and your little one as I know this is a scary time!! My son had his surgery only one week after my mom passed away so I completely understand how nervous you are but every thing will be okay and she will be sooooooo much better after the surgery. My son had a solid ear infection from July - September and he has not had one ear infection since the surgery on October 23,2006!!!!! I can tell you that if your daughter has a favorite stuffed animal or blanket that she is attached to take it to the hospital because they will allow her to take it into surgery with her. That will help her with some of her fears.

My daughter had the same thing done at 9 months. I was scared to death as well. However, it was the easiest thing. It only took about 10 minutes and they brought her back. She did cry for a little bit when they first brought her back, but got better after we walked around out in the halls looking at everything. She was 100% back to herself by that afternoon. Her tubes have been in for a year and a half now and we have had NO ear infections since. I will beg for tubes at the first ear infection that my next child gets. Don't worry. It will be such a blessing.

Both of my younger boys had tubes. Jacob had his put in at 10 months and Joshua at about 8 months. They would literally get ear infections every other week. And Joshua even had a busted ear drum on three different occasions by the time he was 8 months. The tubes were wonderful. They have had less than a handful of ear infections since. But the surgery wasn't bad. It was very quick. They instructed me not to let him have anything to eat or drink after midnight. The younger they are the earlier in the morning they will bring them in, usually. When we arrived, I waited for a little while and then they took us to a room where they talked to us and got him comfortable with them. Then they took him and I waited. When they were done, they allowed me to come in and get him off of the bed and take him to a rocking chair in a quiet area and give him a bottle. When they wake up the anesthesia causes them to feel like they have cobwebs in their eyes (according to the doctor) so when they woke up they were very agitated for a few minutes. But the bottle helped to soothe him until I was ready to go. It will be fine...these have because very standard procedures. There may be other stuff with the adnoids but of the people I have known whose children have had them removed, there have been no complications. Just make sure that you ask the doctor lots of questions and ask them to explain the entire process step-by-step so that you won't have any surprises.